- Hawk Tuah Girl launched her memecoin, $HAWK, on December 4, 2024.
- The Solana-based memecoin recorded gains of 900% at initial trading.
- Within the short term, the memecoin crashed and lost 95% of its market cap.
$HAWK, the ‘Hawk Tuah’ Girl’s namesake cryptocurrency crashed, setting off scam allegations against Haily Welch. Welch, also known as Hawk Tuah Girl, is making headlines. The social media sensation is facing criticism after the cryptocurrency crash.
Welch released her memecoin, $HAWK, on December 4, 2024, on the Solana blockchain. The memecoin, just after the launch, saw a massive surge. It achieved a market capitalization of $500 Million.
This rapid rise attracted the attention of investors and was celebrated across social media. However, this small-time excitement quickly turned into an outrage. In a short period, the Solana-based memecoin’s market capitalization plummeted by 95%, with many losing money.
$HAWK, Solana Based Memecoin Crash, and the Allegations
Hawk Tuah Girl rose to fame after her TikTok video went viral. Since then, she quit her job and capitalized on her fame by selling merchandise and appearing on podcasts.
Welch also got involved with crypto and launched her memecoin, $HAWK. At the initial trading, it recorded massive gains and surged by 900%. However, within 20 minutes, the market witnessed the cryptocurrency crash, plunging to $60 Million in market capitalization.
Soon after $HAWK’s sharp fall, allegations of a scam started surfacing. Investors accused Welch and her team of using a rug pull or pump and dump scheme.
The “pump and dump” scheme involves a coordinated effort to inflate the price of a cryptocurrency, which is called a pump. After this, when the token is at its peak, they sell it off (dump), leaving investors with losses.
In the “rug pull” strategy, cryptocurrency developers suddenly abandon the crypto right after attracting significant investment, cashing it off.
Critics have pointed out that a significant portion of HAWK tokens appeared to be concentrated in a few wallets. This suggests the possibility of insider trading. It further fueled allegations that the memecoin was designed to profit a select few while exploiting the broader community of investors.
During presales and gift allocations, 285 wallets held 96% of HAWK’s supply. Bubblemaps, a blockchain analysis organization, revealed this information in its investigation. Moreover, this raised suspicions about coordinated selling activities shortly after the token’s launch.
Reports indicate that insiders may have profited approximately $3 Million from these early sell-offs. That further fuels allegations that the project was designed to exploit unsuspecting investors.
Social Media Reaction on $HAWK Crash
After the cryptocurrency crash, many investors expressed their frustration and disappointment on social media. One X user, JIGGA.5mbK, posted that this crash of the Solana-based memecoin cost its life savings of $35,000.
“My $35,000 that I purchased of $Hawk is now $2,000 after 10 minutes of buying. I am a huge fan of Hawk Tuah but you took my life savings. I purchased your coin $Hawk that you were so excited about with my life savings and children’s college education fund as well,” the investor stated.
Another user, Bento Boi, wrote, “The $HAWK TUA Memecoin Dev Made Over $2 Million in 10 minutes?! 96% of the supply is held in one cluster.” Furthermore, he cautioned netizens to stay away from celebrity coins.
Welch & Team Deny Allegations
Welsch and her team have denied all allegations of any scam and have nothing to do with the cryptocurrency crash. They asserted that they did not sell any tokens during the launch.
Moreover, they claimed they had implemented measures to deter “snipers”. Snipers are the traders who rapidly buy large quantities of tokens from exploiting the event.
Welch stated: “We tried to stop snipers as best as we could through high fees in the start of launch… fees have now been dropped.”
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and provides no financial, investment, or other advice. The author or any people mentioned in this article are not responsible for any financial loss that may occur from investing in or trading. Please do your research before making any financial decisions.
